The Princes of the World
by WarriorKing849
Summary: When a mysterious terrorist attack rocks the world, the only witnesses; Saïx, a workaholic high school teacher with a dark past; Axel, a shiftless collage drop-out with a kind heart; and Roxas and Xion; two orphans, become entangled in a web of conspiracies, involving a mysterious group called Organization XIII. Now, they must rely on one another for survival. AkuSaiRokuShi
1. Chapter 1

**Note: special thanks to Raberba Girl, the master of AkuSaiRokuShi. I don't own Kingdom Hearts or any associated right. This is inspired by Eden of the East**

Xion sat in her soft chair behind her desk. She looked down at her white blouse and smoothed out the wrinkles that had formed. Her eyes then flew to the door, as the distinctive hiss of the automatic door caught her attention. Xion watched as a man with light blonde hair and blue eyes walked in.

"Hey, you're the new person, right?" He asked amiability.

"Yes," Xion replied, nodding her head.

"Tidus, nice to meet you," He said introducing himself.

"I'm Xion," She responded.

Tidus gave her a smile, a few encouraging words, and walked off to find the water cooler. Xion watched him walk away before glancing back toward the door.

The automatic door had the words 'Sun and Smiles Daycare' printed on it. Xion personally thought the name was pretty bland. But that wasn't really her place to say, after all this was her place of work now. Her job was as a caretaker, and she relished it. Xion's heart almost jumped at the thought that she would be teaching children, protecting them, and making sure that they grew into responsible adults. After all, children were one of the most important things in the world.

 _It's just like he said, they're the latent princes and princesses of the world._ Xion thought. At this thought, she, almost unconsciously, reached into her jacket's pulled out a small picture. The edges were crumpled and there was a crease down the middle. However, Xion ignored all of these faults and focused on the contents of the picture. In it, Xion, only ten years old, sat with a blue ice cream bar in one hand. Sitting next to her was a boy, of her age, with spiky blond hair and a happy smile on his face. He held an identical ice cream bar. To his left was a much older man with long blue hair and an x shaped scar in the middle of his face. His golden eyes showed complete boredom and slight irritation, but a hidden kindness. He held one of the blue ice cream bars. To the far right of the picture sat a man with ridiculous spiky red hair and tear shaped tattoos under his green eyes. His right arm was held out and hardly in the shot. In his left hand was a fourth ice cream bar. Out of the four, he seemed to be the most energetic of the small group, with a cocky smile from ear to ear.

Xion smiled at the picture. It always brought back a torrent of memories, some bad, some good. The memories of her first friends and their adventure of when her life had truly began.


	2. Chapter 2

**This took a while didn't it? Well, better late than never. Don't own anything.**

"Xion, Xion! Come on, Xion, wake up!"

A girl, about ten with black hair, reluctantly opened her groggy eyes. The sun's beams glared into her eyes with an aggressive radiance. Xion held up a dirt covered hand in a desperate attempt to shield her eyes.

"Xion, come on, wake up already," The voice insisted. Xion, her eyes adjusting to the light, looked up at a boy of her age. He had bright blue eyes and blonde hair that stuck up so high one would think he had put his finger in an electrical socket.

"Roxas, I'm tired," Xion complained. "Can't I just sleep for a few more minutes?"

Roxas just shook his head.

"Sorry, but we have to leave before someone catches us." Roxas replied, before offering Xion a hand. Muttering to herself, Xion accepted her companion's hand. Roxas gently lifted Xion of her bed, which consisted of various garbage bags. As Xion sat up, she stretched out her arms and yawned.

"How'd you sleep?" Roxas asked as Xion stood up.

"Better than I have in a long time, we should sleep in here more often," Xion replied, a bright smile on her face.

"We'll, see," Roxas said, trying to hide some disappointment. Xion frowned. She had grown used to seeing this expression. Roxas always had it when he knew something was not likely to happen but was trying to hide it.

"Come on, we should probably leave before anyone catches us." Roxas said, desperate to change the subject. Xion reached down and picked up a dirty stuffed yellow bird that was missing a foot. "Mr. Moogle" was Xion's only real possession and she keep it with her at all time. Roxas nodded to the left, signifying the way out of the dumpster the two had spent the night in.

Xion had been an orphan for almost her entire life. She had no real memories of her life before living on the street. Her stuffed bird was the only thing she really identified with her life before. Xion vaguely recalled someone, a kind person with a big and loving smile, handing her the bird. After that, everything about her life was a complete mystery. Xion had spent the most of her life wandering from place to place on the streets. Occasionally, people gave her food but no-one really helped her. That was until she met Roxas. Roxas, also a street orphan, had taken pity on Xion and started traveling with her. Roxas soon become the older brother Xion never had (well Xion was pretty sure she didn't have an older brother.) Roxas was always kind and dependable, though on the somewhat dimmer side. Roxas was smart,but, he just didn't seem to know that much about stuff other than survival on the streets. Though Roxas' street smarts had gotten the two of them out of trouble many times.

As the two came to the wire fence that enclosed the dumpster, Roxas stopped, suddenly.

"Xion, look!" He called out, practically diving into a pile of garbage bags.

"Roxas, what is it?" Xion asked, as Roxas digged through the piles of garbage. After a few moments, Roxas emerged holding an apple. Xion gasped in amazement. This apple had a large bite mark, two rotted spots, and flies flying all around it. It was, without a doubt the most beautiful thing Xion had ever seen in her entire life.

"Here," Roxas offered, handing the apple to her.

"Roxas I..I couldn't you found it," Xion said.

"Xion, I want you to have it," Roxas insisted. And that was all the encouraging she

needed. Xion quickly devoured the apple without a second thought.

"Thank you, Roxas!" Xion said after finishing off her meal.

"Don't mention it," Roxas replied. "One day, we won't have to eat dirty stuff anymore. One day, Xion, the two of us will be able to eat clean stuff, and sleep on those nice things..um beds."

"Sure Roxas," Xion replied with a smile. Xion had heard Roxas say something like thing many times. Roxas was always saying that the two of them would somehow get lots of money and live the good life. Xion didn't really think that was going to happen, but she appreciated the thought.

* * *

 _Beep beep beep beep_

"Aw, come on," Muttered an annoyed voice as a skinny arm reached out and desperately slammed the digital alarm clock.

 _beep beep beep beep_ The clock continued its ceaseless sound.

"I'm awake! jeez," The owner of the skinny arm grumbled into his pillow as he started to reach down to the outlet it was plugged into. Finally, he yanked the core out and the beeping stopped.

"I hate that thing," Came a disgruntled sigh. The clock's victim gave a final annoyed grunt before hauling himself out of his bed. He half-walked, half- crawled across his small apartment into the bathroom. When he arrived, he quickly turned on the warm water of his sink and started splashing his face with water. After he had finished, he looked in the mirror. In the mirror he saw a very skinny man of twenty-two with bright red slicked back spiky hair, emerald eyes, and purple reverse-teardrop tattoos( a constant reminder of his misspent youth.)

"Mornin' handsome," Axel smirked pointing at his reflection. He reached into the sink and pulled out the toothbrush he had somehow left in the sink. Axel opened his mouth to start brushing his teeth when he noticed a bright yellow post-it on the glass. It read:

Date with Larx, nine twenty-five, today, got it memorized.

A smile crossed Axel's face. Larxene Floudre was an accomplished columnists, nearly famous for her completely unadulterated and some would say savage articles on well basically any politician, celebrity, or businessman she pleased. Larxene had a few biographies written about her, appeared in several interviews including Oprah, and even had her own personal bodyguard.

So how it the wide world had Axel James Lealand, a collage dropout who lived in a low-rent apartment and worked as a film projectionist at the local mall ever ended up dating Larxene. Well, Axel always thought of it as true love, like the kind that he often showed in his day job. The two had first met in typical romantic fashion, with Axel accidently lighting her skirt on fire during a rather pathetic attempt to show off to his (admittedly few) friends. Then of course, there was the necessary scene where the young couple go decide to stop ignoring their feelings and start dating, this would be Larxene showing up at Axel's apartment and practically dragging him to a date because she lose a bet with a co-worker. Finally, there was the awkward first date. In all honesty, Axel didn't really remember the first date all that well. What he did remember was the two of them waking up in the police station, him with a head splitting headache, an injured hand, and a few burn marks on his favorite leather jacket.

According to Larxene, during dinner Axel had offered to cut a slice of bread for her. This had resulted in Larxene's bodyguard, a burly(and presumably paranoid) man by the name of Kurt Ziza, throwing a chamarm into Axel's hand. Axel had then knocked over one of the scented candles on the table, which had lit the table on fire(why did stuff always light on fire in Axel's love life) Kurt then dove in to 'save' Larxene and knocked her into the table next to them. The dinner next to them was absolutely furious and got into a heated argument with Larxene and Kurt. That had ended in Kurt and the other dinner engaging in a full on brawl, which Axel somehow got dragged into and then hit on the head with a bottle of wine. Eventually, the restaurant called the police and had the lot of them arrested for damages. Fortunately, Larxene had managed to pull some strings and convince the restaurant to drop the charges.

Axel had been completely certain that his chances with Larxene had dropped to zero but surprisingly enough, she had actually asked him to take her on a second date, this one without Kurt.

For a woman who made her career on viciously destroying other people, she was a surprisingly nice person once one got to know her, well most of the time anyway. _I've got to have the best luck on planet Earth._ Axel thought.

* * *

 _I've got to have the worst luck on planet Earth._ Pence thought desperately, as he ran down the side walk. Of course, he had forgotten to put batteries in his alarm clock, of course he had had to completely skip eating his breakfast to try and catch the bus, and of course he had missed the bus anyway. Now, he had to run like a cheetah to try and get to school before class started. The last thing Pence needed was to be late, again.

 _Come on, come on,_ He thought, wishing that somehow the super-speed that the characters in the comics he read would suddenly be granted to him. As he turned the familiar corner of the where Olette, one of his best friends, lived, he spotted a large high school. Encouraged by the sight of his objective, Pence sped forward running through the streets desperate to reach school before the bell rang. He burst through the front doors like an action hero breaking into a bad guy's lair. Pence hurried through the halls of the school trying to reach his first class, literature. He ran past the class rooms for science, math, and history before reaching the door leading to the literature class.

Pence took a calming breath, hoping to hide the fact he just ran a marathon trying to get here. Pence opened the door to find the class room. In most of the classes, the class room, right before class began, was in complete anarchy. The kids always ran rampant, talking, yelling, a few firing spit balls at one another. However, the room was completely silent. All of the students sat completely still. Pence shuffled toward his chair trying to avoid notice by the teacher. He found his usual spot, in between his two best friends, Olette and Hayner. As he quietly took his seat, Hayner, a fourteen year old with spiked blond hair, leaned over and whispered to him.

"Dude, you literally had one minute left."

Pence looked at the clock on the wall and saw he infect actually had literally one minute left, before class started. _Wow, that was close._ Pence thought, sweet dripping down his face. Then, the bell rung and the teacher stood up.

Pence had friends who went to other schools and he heard them always complain about their teachers. He heard other kids his age say 'my teacher's a jerk', 'she always gives me tough assignments' 'he's so boring, all he does is stand there and talk all day' but none of them had ever experienced Saïx.

Saïx was a for all intents and purposes the embodiment of every student's worst nightmare. He was the Doctor Doom, no, the Darth Vader of teachers. The word 'good' seemed to be completely out of Saïx's vocabulary because he never said the word. He never said 'good morning' never said 'have a good day' and most importantly he never said 'good job.' Pence had been in Saïx's class for half of the school year and never once had the teacher ever given a single 100 percent grade. During class he would walk down the rows of chairs and look over every single solitary student's shoulder to look at their work. Often, he would pull the pencil out of a student's hand and use it to point out various flaws in the work. Sometimes with particularly bad students he would pull up a chair and sit right next to them, as if trying to improve their work by his mere presence, though Pence personally though all it did was distract the student( he know it distracted the heck out of him). Saïx was even hard on his favorites( i.e. the people he got annoyed at least.) Once, Olette spend a whole day doing nothing but trying to perfect a report on A Christmas Carol. The next day Saïx had placed the report on the chalkboard marking it as 'mistakes to be avoid.' Oltette's parents had went to the school ready to confront Saïx personally but they backed down once they got a good look at him.

Saïx's true fear factor didn't just come from his methods but his actual appearance. Saïx was a sturdily built man with long blue hair. That was all fine and dandy and from a glance he seemed normal enough until anyone looked at his face. Reaching from the middle of his forehead to just below his eye was a large scar shaped like an 'x.' No one knew how he got the scar and no one dared ask. Theories about the origin of the scar varied from time as a secret agent to time as a mob boss. However, his most frightening was with a doubt his eyes, which were a bright gold. Someone could fill a dictionary on theories the students, (and even some of the other teachers) came up with about his eyes. Some people said that he was an alien, or that he spilled chemicals on his eyes, or that he was a werewolf. Even Olette who was usually very nice and unbiased, thought that he wore contacts to scare students. However, the most prevalent theory was that if anyone made eye-to-eye contact with Saïx long enough, he would eat your soul. Pence usually didn't believe that rumors that students spread around but he would believe anything about Saïx.

When the bell wrong, Pence, Hayner, Olette, and probably the entire class gulped as Saïx stood up. He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out his reading glasses( many people thought that he wore this to control his eyes' soul eating power). He put them on and then opened his desk's drawer and pulled out ' _A Tale of Two Cities.'_

"Alright class," Saïx began in his constantly monotonous voice. Another truly frightening thing about Saïx was his complete lack of emotions. He managed to keep himself in complete control at all times. Saïx only had two expressions, his normal calm yet threatening expression and one that seemed slightly annoyed, with a small frown(though that meant that Saïx was in a state of relative fury.) "today he will begin studying Charles Dicken's classic, a Tale of Two Cities."

As Saïx began walking down the rows of students, he droned on about the book and the author's inspiration. However, Pence(and presumably the rest of the class) was too busy hoping he wouldn't stop right next to them. Suddenly, Saïx turned on his heels and made his way toward Pence. _And que the Imperial March._ Pence thought fearfully as Saïx came to a stop right next to his desk.

"And seeing how Pence here is so knowledgeable on time," He said, taking off his glasses. "perhaps he could tell us when this books was written."

Saïx stared directly into Pence's eyes. _Okay Pence, just stay calm, he's not that scary he's just some dumb teacher, he can't eat your soul._ Then Pence really started looking at Saïx's eyes. Then, he could feel it. All the joy and warmth in his life was being sucked into Saïx's eyes. Everything he loved was turning cold, oh why.

"1658." Pence guessed desperate to look away.

"1859." Saïx replied, however he looked up and continued walking, much to Pence's relief.

* * *

Axel walked down the wind streets, wearing his leather jacket. He would have liked to say that he wore this leather jacket on this chilly February, which had a few holes(not to mention burn marks in it) because he had great emotional attachment to this jacket, his dad had given he this jacket before he passed away he had worn it since he was a teenager, it was like a close friend to him. But in all honestly this was his only jacket.

Breathing out a frosted breath, Axel dug into his jacket's pocket and pulled out his phone. It was a 2007 flip phone. Now Axel would have liked to say that the reason he had such an outdated phone was that he didn't believe in pop culture, that he was resisting the world's obsession with plugging itself into an iphone and removing itself from reality, or that he refused to give into the fads of selfie, texting, and all that. However, in all honestly, this was the only phone he could afford.

"Hey Larx," He said after his phone had finished dialing.

" _Axel James Lealand, how dare you call this number!_ " Came the furious reply. _That's not good_ Axel thought.

"Hey Larxene, is..uh something wrong?" Axel asked, cautiously.

" _You bet there's something wrong!_ " Larxene yelled back. " _I made an idiot of myself yesterday! I spent three hours, THREE HOURS waiting for you and you never showed up!_ "

"Show up for what?" Axel asked, getting a feeling he knew exactly what she was talking about.

" _Our date yesterday, you moron, or did you forget."_ She spat over the phone.

"Um..I can explain," Axel began scratching the back of his head. Before he got a chance to explain, she suddenly hung up.

"That's just great," Axel huffed. He let out an annoyed sigh before trudging on. _Guess I don't have ta take the day off after all._ Axel thought sardonically trying to think of a way to convince his boss to let him show up for work.

* * *

Roxas walked through the streets of the city with his hands stuffed in his pockets. The air was cold, snow covered the streets, and when he breathed it came out like a cloud. Roxas knew this meant only one think. _It_ _must be June, already_. He thought decidedly.

He and Xion had been very successful today. They had raided three garbage cans, chased away pigeons and stole their little yellow thing that people throw to them, what were they called…bananas, and they even managed to find a copper coin on the ground, a nickel as Roxas thought it was called.

The two eventually wandered in the local mall( though Roxas had been sure that it was called a restaurant), hoping to find something to eat, when Xion stopped suddenly.

"Xion, what are you looking at?" Roxas asked, walking next to Xion.

"Roxas, look!" Xion pointed at a piece of paper held in a glass containment. Roxas couldn't read so he had no idea what exactly Xion felt so drawn to about the piece of paper.

"It's Cinderella," Xion said. Roxas looked at the poster, noticing the woman with long blond hair.

"Oh, yeah. She's the one with the long hair," Roxas said.

"No." Xion replied, with a smile.

"Darn, well she can make things turn cold right," Roxas guessed.

"No, Roxas. She's the one with the glass slipper," Xion said.

"I knew that," Roxas replied, hastily covering up his mistakes.

"Roxas, do you think we could see this movie?" Xion asked.

"Xion, our nickel isn't enough to afford a movie," Roxas replied. "Those things cost like a hundred dollars."

"But Roxas, she's just like us," Xion pleaded. "She was poor and had to eat garbage, but then she got really rich because she worked hard, like we do. I want to see it because..I just want to remember that things can go right, even for poor people."

Roxas took this into consideration. She made a good point, maybe seeing this would help them to work even harder, because maybe there was a happy ending for them. Beside, seeing Xion happy, always made Roxas happy.

* * *

"Dude, I can't believe that you survived the death stare," Hanyer said as he and his friends, Olette and Pence, walked out of the school. "How do you feel?"

"Like my soul was almost ripped out," Pence muttered.

"Oh, come on Pence, Saïx can't really eat your soul, that's just stupid," Olette chastised him.

"You wouldn't know you didn't have to look in directly in the eyes!" Pence retorted.

"Excuse me," Came a voice. The three teens looked over to see an Arabian woman, in a blue coat.

"Do you know if one of your teachers, Mr. Dawson, is still here?" She asked.

"Hm. Yeah Sa-I mean Mr. Dawson is still here, he usually stays in the school pretty late," Hanyer said.

"Thank you, um.." She replied.

"Hanyer and this is Pence and Olette," Hanyer replied.

"Thank you, I'm Jasmine," The woman introduced herself.

"Oh, like the Disney princess," Pence commented before receiving an elbow from Olette.

Jasmine just smile, as if saying she'd heard the joke before, and then walked into the school.

"I wonder what she wants with X-face?" Hanyer commented.

Jasmine walked through the corridors of the school until she came to the door labeled literature. She opened the door to find Saïx leaning over his desk, pouring over various papers sitting on the table. To a normal onlooker, Saïx's expression was completely neutral. But Jasmine was one of the few, if only, people who could truly read Saïx. And right now, Jasmine could practically feel the pure anger, disgust, and hatred emanating from Saïx. It was passionate, all-consuming, and it was directed at himself. Jasmine had known Saïx long enough to know that this fire of emotion was directed at himself. Every single time he looked at a report or essay with even the slightest errors, Saïx became consumed by complete and total guilt and disgust at his teaching abilities. When Saïx saw any errors in his students, he felt his entire career as an educator as a shame and a disgrace. Jasmine had no idea where Saïx's mass of insecurities came from but she knew how powerful they were even if he didn't show it.

"Hi, Saïx," Jasmine said, breaking the complete silence the enveloped the room. Saïx looked up from his desk. To most people, his lip had twitched slightly, but Jasmine knew that was Saïx's equivalent of a massive smile.

"Greetings, Jasmine," Saïx replied, before looking down at the papers on his desk.

"Saïx, you do remember your promise, right?" Jasmine asked, walking closer to his desk. "You said you'd take me to the movies today."

"I am keenly aware of our prearranged appointment," Saïx replied as if he were discussing a business meeting. "I just have to finish a few more matters at hand."

"Saïx, you have the whole weekend," Jasmine said. "Come on, it will be fun."

Saïx let out a small huff before raising from his seat, before he walked past his desk he looked down at a small picture frame. Jasmine followed his gaze.

She had seen this picture many times but had never asked about it. In the picture, a young Saïx(without the scar) stood with a large smile on his face. He was holding hands with a young girl holding a large stuffed bird in her hands.

* * *

"THAT LITTLE RAT, HOW DARE HE!" Larxene fumed. "HE THINKS HE CAN JUST CALL ME AND GIVE ME,ME, HIS GOOD FOR NOTHING EXPLAINATIONS! DOESN'T HE KNOW WHO I AM!"

Larxene was a slender woman with blond hair and green eyes. Her hair was styled so that two straids stood up like antenna. She had originally doned this look to mock one of her critics who had called her an insect. Larxene had eventually decided to keep her hair in this fashion(probably to fill her own ego.)

"I told you he was nothing but a gold digger," Remarked Kurt Ziza, who was walking along side Larxene in the massive parking complex of her newspaper.

"No,no, he probably just forgot," Larxene said, calming down. "Though for someone, obsessed with saying 'get it memorized' I expected more."

Kurt just snorted in reply. The two were nearing Larxene's car when a loud thud broke the silence. Kurt immediately throw himself infront of Larxene. Larxene looked around for a minute before saying,

"Kurt, it was probably a rat, calm down,"

Larxene reached into her purse and started shifting around for a moment.

"Great, I forgot my lipstick." She muttered. "Kurt, be a dear and get it."

Kurt nodded and walked away. Larxene stood impatiently tapping her foot, before saying.

"This had better be important."

A figure wearing a black, double-breasted trench coat walked out of the shadows. His hood was pulled over his head completely obscuring his face.

"I have received orders from the superior," He said.

"And?" Larxene prodded.

"The time has arrived, the prince has been chosen." The figure said.

"It took him long enough," Larxene muttered. "So the reshaping shall begin?"

"Indeed. You know your part," The figure replied. "And then the Thirteen shall gather."

 **Now if you will excuse me I need to call my lawyer to prepare when Rabera Girl decides to sue me for using SaiJaz**


	3. Chapter 3

**And we're back! :)**

The cold sterile light of the laboratory's shone down on Rinoa Heartilly as she placed the last few specimens of the zooplankton in the large refrigerator that held the specimens. She pulled off her lab coat and walked over to the door. She reached over to the light switch when a voice cut her off.

"Rinoa dear, I think I'm going to over a stay a little late again," Rinoa looked over to see a middle aged man, with long blond hair and green eyes looking up from his microscope.

"Of course, Professor," Rinoa replied.

"Rinoa, for the two-hundredth time, please do just call me Vexen," The man asked, a slightly annoyed look crossing his face.

"Sorry," Rinoa said before walking out the door. As the door closed, Rinoa stole an admiring look at Vexen.

Professor Vexen Clarkson was everything Rinoa dream of becoming. He had earned multiple doctorates in a wide array of scientific studies. His I.Q. reached the one hundred and fifties, he made guest appearances at universities across the planet, had discovered an entire new species of antelope not to mention dozens of previously unknown microorganisms, and even won a Nobel Prize. Leon, Rinoa's boyfriend, sometimes teased her saying that she vauled her work under Vexen over their relationship. That wasn't true, but Rinoa never took for granted the opportunity she had been granted to work with Vexen, or the respect he showed her.

"Finally!" Vexen muttered to himself. "Now I can get to doing real work. Honestly, how did I end up working with such a pathetic moron. I am an intellectual giant, why did I ever take her under my wing."

Vexen continued muttering as he leaned over the table and looked into the micro-scope.

"Such harsh words Vexen, you really know how to break a girl's heart."

Vexen almost jumped at the sound. He spun around to see a figure. The figure was wearing a long black trench-coat. The hood was pulled over her head so Vexen could not make out any of her features but he knew who it was.

"Number XII, what do you think you're doing here?" He growled, his voice lowering to a whisper.

"Oh, come on Vexen, can't a friend just drop by and pay a visit?" Number XII replied.

"Do you know how stupid that sounds? Your actions are a massive break of protocol," Vexen spat.

"Hmm, you're right that is stupid, after all you don't have any friends," Number XII retorted before snorting a laugh.

"Why you.. When the Superior finds out about this," Vexen threatened.

"But Vexen, he told me to come," Number XII mock pouted before adding in a more serious tone. "The time has come."

Vexen's eyes immediately widened at Number XII's words _._ Without a single word, Vexen walked past Number XII and stopped in front of the specimen holder. He pushed it to the left, blocking the door. Behind the specimen holder was a large vault placed into the wall. Vexen quickly spun the combination into the vault and opened it.

"So begins the great experiment," Vexen said.

* * *

Jasmine walked hand-in-hand with Saïx through the mall. Various people stared as they passed. She had grown used to this by now. Everyone looked at the two of them together and thought ' _How in the world did that freak get that girl?_ None of Jasmine's friends understood her relationship with Saïx and her father had almost had a heart attack when he had first met his potential son-in-law. However, Jasmine had always found that the positions should be reversed in the common thought. How in the world had she ever ended up deserving Saïx?

Jasmine had come from a very well off family. She had gone to all of the best boarding schools, received the finest education, and gotten everything she wanted from her parents. That last part had proved problematic. Her parents truly loved her, but they lacked the ability to say 'no' to her. Thus, Jasmine had become quite the wild child. She did whatever she pleased, whenever she pleased. Anything from 'harmless' practical jokes to spending whole days at various parties. She loved the thrill of doing anything, anywhere, at anytime. Then, she literally ran into Saïx. At first, she was completely repelled and somewhat frightened by him. So of course the only thing to do to prove to her friends that she wasn't a coward was to sneak into his house at three A.M. She had found him, not asleep in his bed, but slumped over his chair, presumably in the middle of grading papers. Jasmine took his watch as a victory trophy and left. However, the next day, all she could do was stare at the watch. Jasmine tried to enjoy herself, but inevitably, her thoughts wandered back to Saïx. The day after, she returned his watch. After that, she started a strange friendship with him. Saïx seemed to be able to instruct a kind of order on her life. Not in any forceful way, but it was like his own complete self-control managed to rub off on her. Jasmine stopped really enjoying herself during her wild adventures. Instead, Jasmine found Saïx's rather Spartan lifestyle very enjoyable. As they spent time together, Jasmine began to see another side of Saïx. She could see the wide array of emotions he displayed with the slightest of gestures. Eventually, their friendship blossomed into something much deeper.

Jasmine had stopped caring what everyone thought about Saïx from a glance. Jasmine didn't care that people believed he was a heartless freak. If she was the only person who could see Saïx for who he really was, then so be it. The real Saïx was kind, understanding, intelligent..and not here.

Jasmine looked at Saïx, who was currently staring off into space. Jasmine had gotten used to this over the course of their relationship. Saïx was somehow grading his papers, in his mind. Jasmine had no idea how but Saïx managed to memorize them but this was not the first time she had to deal with something like this(and probably not the last.) A quick snap her fingers grabbed Saïx's attention.

"Saïx, it's not much of a date if you're going to grade papers in your mind," She said, slightly annoyed but mostly amused.

"My apologies," Saïx replied with his equivalent of an embarrassed blush.

"Saïx, at least try to enjoy yourself, for me," Jasmine asked, a small smile forming on her face.

"I will endeavor to enjoy myself," Saïx said, the corner of his lip quirking upward. "If it will make you happy."

* * *

 _Furthermore.._

"Furthermore, who even says that?" Axel muttered to himself before erasing the word. Axel started down at the piece of paper on his leg. It was an apology letter written to Larxene. Axel wasn't sure if it was his romantic sensibilities that inspired him to write this letter, or the fact that he finished a showing of the _Notebook._ Either way it seemed like a good idea( though on the other side Axel had plenty of life experience that said just because something seemed like a good idea didn't mean it was one.)

"Okay, from the top," Axel said as he started reading his letter. He had spent the last twenty minutes splitting his time between writing this letter and showing his latest film, _Cinderella._ After finishing his recap, Axel stood up, taking a moment to stretch before walking over to the camera equipment and sliding film reel containing the last trailer, before the film. He sat back down and looked over the letter. _It's good, but something's missing.._ Axel mused. He picked up his pencil and started to add something when..

 _Thud._

Axel jumped at the sound.

"What the.."

Another loud thud, interrupted Axel. Then another, and another, and another followed. Soon the thuds became constant. Axel looked up at the celling wishing he hadn't spent all of last night watching horror movies. The thuds continued for a few moments before a large shadow appeared in the air vent. Axel started backing toward the door when he noticed one of the screws on the vent starting to push out.

"Oh boy," Axel muttered. Suddenly, the vent popped open and a strange form fell onto the ground. Axel blinked in disbelief. Lying before him were to children covered in dirty and dressed in what could only be described as rags. One of the two, a boy with spiky blond hair, immediately sat up and leaned over his companion, a girl with dark hair carrying a large stuffed bird.

"Xion, are you okay?" He asked, his voice filled with concern.

"I'm fine Roxas it's jus-" She began. She stopped mid-sentence and started at Axel. The boy followed her gaze. He then immediately flung himself in front of Xion spreading his arms wide like he was some kind of tiny bodyguard. It was really kinda cute.

"Hey, are you two-" Axel started before the boy interrupted him.

"Stay back, or else I'll hit you!" Roxas threatened. _Okay, now this is just adorable._ Axel mentally chuckled. Axel thought for a moment, considering his next move. One summer, during Axel's teen years, his mother had sent him off to stay with his Uncle Reno, who had like twenty kids. At first, Axel thought it was a nightmare, but by the end, he managed to actually control Reno's wild children and even enjoy himself in the process. It there was one good thing Axel had learned during his life it was his way around children.

"Look, Roxas, right, I'm not going to hurt you," Axel said.

"Yes, you are!" Roxas said waving his arms in a protective fashion (this is too cute) "You're going to take away Xion, just like they took away Zack."

"Please, mister," Xion whispered from behind Roxas. "We just want to see the movie."

"...well I just happen to work here, maybe I could sneak you in," Axel grinned.

Roxas and Xion exchanged glances. Axel leaned over and picked up the bag of popcorn, he had brought with him to eat. He slowly inched toward Roxas before handing him the bag. Then, Xion spoke up.

"Roxas, shouldn't we pay him?" She asked. Roxas then reached into one of his filthy pockets and pulled out a rusted old nickel. He handed it to Axel, somewhat reluctantly.

"Look, it's on the house okay," Axel said, getting only confused looks before adding. "I mean it's free okay."

"Uh..Thank you, mister," Xion said.

"Who's mister, the name's Axel, got it memorized," Axel joked in reply.

This managed to elicit a small smile from the two. Axel then opened to door leading to the seats in-front of the screen and ushered them out. He then closed the door and picked up his phone. He opened it to dial a child services group or something but found, he had forgotten to charge his phone.

"Aw..come on!" He growled in frustration.

* * *

As the massive screen faded to black and a bunch of words Roxas couldn't read appeared on the screen, Roxas allowed himself a small huff. He didn't get it, why didn't Cinderella ever turn into a frog in the movie? She should have, that's how the story goes. Also, why didn't the Disney Mouse appear? Roxas knew for a fact that the Disney Mouse showed up in every movie about princesses. This was a-

Roxas was snapped out of his thoughts by a sniffle. He looked over to see Xion, tears forming in her eyes.

"Xion, are you okay?" Roxas asked.

"It..it wa…was so..beautiful, Roxas," Xion explained through sniffles.

"Is that bad?" Roxas asked.

"No, Roxas, I'm just really happy," Xion said, getting control of herself. "I'm so glad that we got here."

"Then why are you crying?" Roxas questioned, completely lost.

"Nevermind," Xion said. She then reached into her pocket and pulled out a stuffed yellow foot, Mr. Moogle's other foot. Roxas gasped.

"Xion, you're not.." Roxas began.

"That man, Axel, he let us see something so wonderful, I think he deserves something," Xion said.

* * *

Axel stood outside the exit to the theater, tapping his foot impatiently.

"Come on," He muttered. He looked through the crowds trying to find the two orphans from earlier. He was just about to go inside and look for them when he spotted them running to him. He gave a friendly wave, as the two ran up to him. Xion reached into her pocket and started to say something, Axel stopped paying attention when he saw a woman wearing a black coat with the hood up walking down the halls of the theater. Axel blinked for a moment. _Could it be…_ He wondered. The woman had Larxene's exact build and height. Then again, Larxene was exactly uniquely built and she had no reason to be here. Axel had never told her where he worked and she didn't watch many movies. _Still, it's worth a shot, besides, she might have a phone._ Axel thought.

"Hey, look stay right here," He said interrupting Xion, before running off.

* * *

Saïx leaned over and dropped the now empty bag of pop-corn into a garbage can, before turning back to Jasmine.

"See, wasn't that fun?" Jasmine asked, with a hopeful smile. Saïx hesitated a moment. In all honesty, he had spent half of the film mentally tearing its plot to shreds and then spent the second half mentally grading papers.

"Yes," Saïx replied, keeping his voice in its usual monotone. Jasmine's smile dropped. Saïx felt an uncontrollable urge to start verbally whipping himself. He had spent years, years, trying to master his emotions. How in the world was she so good at deciphering everything he said? Maybe, that was why he loved her so much.

"Jasmine, I appreciate your intentions, truly, furthermore, the mere fact that you seemed to enjoy yourself brings me more pleasure then any mere film," Saïx stated simply. Jasmine giggled a little before saying.

"Who says furthermore?"

Saïx was about to defend his choice of words when a man with fiery red hair almost knocked him over running past.

"Watch where you're.." Saïx began. But he stopped in mid-sentence, as two children ran past, one who looked exactly like..

"Xion," Saïx whispered in shock. Without a second thought, Saïx started following.

* * *

Axel ran down the familiar halls of the theater, panting desperately. He saw the woman turn the corner that lead to the manager's office. He turned the corner himself to find no trace of the woman. But he did see a large briefcase opened up to reveal what looked like a bomb. He took a frightened step back, bumping into something small. He whirled around to see Roxas and Xion.

"Axel, you forgot your," Xion said before catching sight of the briefcase. "What's that?"

 _Crap crap crap crap crap, what do I do?_ Axel thought panicked.

"Xion!" Came a voice. Axel spun around to see a man with creepy yellow eyes and an 'x' shaped scar across his face approaching. He was about to say something when he caught sight of the bomb.

"What is that?" He asked.

"Look that's not mine, I found it..um..quick to you have a phone or something?" Axel replied. The man reached into his pocket and pulled out a phone. He was about to dial when Roxas asked.

"What do those numbers mean?"

Axel and the newcomer both stared at a set of red numbers counting down 5, 4, 3. _There's no time,_ Axel realized. He looked around frantically before spotting the janitor's closet. He grabbed Roxas, Xion, and whoever this new person was and shoved them into the closet just as the counter hit zero. Then a brilliant flash of light nearly blinded Axel and everything when black.


	4. Chapter 4

**(Cue Gandalf voice) ONCE MORE UNTO THE BREACH! I OWN NOTHING! EXCITMENT!**

Axel stood across from Larxene on the altar. She looked absolutely radiant in her flowing white wedding gown. A massive smile dominated Axel's face. His life-long dream had finally come true (well other than being a filthy-stinking rich rock star…but, that could wait.)

"You look beautiful," Axel whispered, as the priest began the ceremony.

"Of course I do," Larxene replied with a teasing smile. "Though you don't look half-bad either."

The warm, happy feeling inside Axel only continued to grow throughout the ceremony, reaching a point of critical mass at the exchange of vows.

"Larxene Elizabeth Floudre, do you take Axel James Lealand to be your lawfully wedded husband?" The priest asked. "In sickness and in health, till death do you part?"

"I do," Larxene replied.

"And do you Axel James Lealand, take Larxene Elizabeth Floudre as your lawfully wedded wife?" The priest said. "In sickness and in health, till death do you part?"

"I.." Axel was about to say when he was interrupted by a shout.

"Axel!"

 _Just ignore it_ Axel thought.

"Mister Axel!"

"Axel! Axel!"

Axel turned his head in the direction of the shouts to see the two children from earlier standing in the pews, yelling and frantically waving their arms.

"What are they.." Axel began only to be interrupted.

"Axel," Came a growl from Larxene, her infamous temper sneaking into her voice.

"I do! I definitely do!" Axel emphasized.

"Good, you may kiss the bride," The priest said. Desperately trying to ignore the children's voices, Axel reached forward and pulled back Larxene's veil. However, when he pulled the veil back he saw a large metal ball with a lit fuse in it.

"Crap! This is a dream isn't it," Axel muttered as the fuse burned away.

* * *

As consciousness drifted back into Axel, the first thing he felt was pain coursing throughout his body. The next thing he felt was a volley of poking.

"Axel! Axel!"

Axel opened his eyes to see the boy, Roxas, crouched next to him.

"Axel! Get up!" Roxas insisted, poking him again. Axel opened his mouth to speak, but broke into a volley of coughing. Axel realized his throat was completely dry.

"Water.. man, what I wouldn't give for.." He began until he looked around. The familiar red carpeted hallway had been reduced to a crater, covered by unevenly spread sheet of ruble. Looking up, Axel saw the pale light of a full moon shining down, where the celling should have been.

"Oh my.." Axel whispered, forcing himself to stand up.

"Axel!" Came an annoyed cry as Roxas grabbed and pulled Axel's arm. This sent a jolt of pain through Axel's arm and he quickly pulled it back. Axel examined his arm, it was covered in cuts and bruises, most of the clothing ripped away. Axel started to feel his arm with his left hand. _Well, nothing's broken so that's good; probably sprained something_. Axel thought. Axel proceeded to look down at the rest of his body. Nothing hurt too badly, but his cloths had been ripped to shreds and he was covered in dust, dirt, and scrapes.

"Hey…Roxas, you okay?" Axel asked turning his attention to the ten-year old. If Roxas' cloths were rages before the explosion then Axel had no idea how to describe them now. Roxas' injuries consisted of a few scrapes and cuts, nothing too bad. Of course someone would have to take a closer look, someone who wasn't Axel.

"It's not me, It's Xion!" Roxas insisted. _Xion..who was..oh crap!_ Axel thought, dread seeping into him. Roxas started running deeper into the rubble, Axel following. The ten-year old abruptly stopped by a large pill of rubble and knelled down.

"Xion, it's okay, I found Axel," He said. Axel knelled down and saw that Xion was pinned under some debris.

"Roxas.. it hurts," She muttered weakly, tears brimming in her eyes.

"Hey Xion, don't worry I'll help ya out of there," Axel reassured. He grabbed a large piece of wall that trapping Xion and pulled with his good arm. He strained under the weight for a while until he couldn't pull any more.

"That's not good," He muttered under his breath, when he realized that the piece of wall hadn't budged. He grabbed the piece and pulled again, to the same result.

"Axel, hurry up!" Roxas insisted, his voice laced with worried for Xion.

"Look kid, I'm trying," Axel replied. He was about to try again when a voice interrupted him.

"Move aside."

Axel and Roxas turned to see the strange man from before. Axel had meet many strange looking people in his life, but this guy topped the rest. His eyes were a bright gold and he had a large 'X' shaped scar in the middle of his face. As he made his way past, Axel noticed his ears were pointed, making him look like a Vulcan.

"Xion, pay attention to me," He began grabbing the rock. _How does he know her name?_ Axel wondered, slightly concerned. "I'm going to grab this rock and lift it, when I do I need you to get out from under it."

"I don't think I can," Xion whispered.

"You have to," The man replied, his voice never raising from a monotone. Axel and Roxas exchanged nervous glances as the man lifted the bolder. Xion half-crawled, half-dragged herself out from under the boulder. The man then dropped the boulder and lifted Xion up onto her feet.

"Xion!" Roxas cried, overjoyed flinging himself onto her in a suffocating hug.

"Are you okay?" He asked when he eventually let her go.

"I'm fine, I think," Xion replied with a warm smile. _If anything was broken, she would would be screaming bloody murder_ Axel thought. He walked over to the strange man and extended a hand.

"Hey, thanks," He said. The man just looked over at him with complete indifference before turning to Xion.

"Come, Xion," He commanded, extending a hand.

"Hun, come where?" Xion asked.

"Nowhere, Xion stays with me," Roxas said defensively.

"Xion is my responsibility, she comes with me," The man replied, his tone slightly lowering to become even more threatening.

"Hey, buddy," Axel jumped in. "How exactly do you know her?"

"She's my sister," The man replied, curtly.

"No, she's not!" Roxas insisted. At that, the man shot Roxas a glare that could have extinguished the sun.

"Hey, Xion, do you know this guy? Is he your brother?" Axel asked, unsure if he hoped for the man to be Xion's brother or not.

Xion thought for a moment, looked at the man and then said.

"No, I don't recognize him."

"There see, now leave Xion alone," Roxas insisted and frankly Axel was inclined to agree. The man gave Roxas an irritated look and started walking toward Xion. Axel immediately stepped in front of him.

"Hey, look around you a building just exploded," Axel snapped, edging closer to Roxas and Xion. "I think we all have more important matters to attend to."

"Nothing is more important to me th-" He began when he stopped suddenly. Axel thought he saw the man's eyes widen by maybe .5 cementers. The man gave a last annoyed grunt before turning and limping off. Axel visually followed his path and saw various emergency vehicles and workers helping with the various injured people.

"Hey, guys let's go over there," Axel suggested, hoping to get the kids looked at(and out of his hair.)

"Why?" Roxas asked, grabbing Xion by the arm.

"Because there's people over there, people who can help you," Axel explained.

"No they're not," Roxas insisted. "Those are the people who took away Zack, and they're gonna take away Xion."

"Wait, does that mean they'll take you away too, Roxas?" Xion asked, panic-stricken.

"Look, nobody's getting take away," Axel said trying to reason with them.

"I don't want them to take Roxas away!" Xion almost shouted.

"Come on Xion, let's leave," Roxas said. _No wait, don't!_ Axel screamed, mentally. He needed to earn these kids' trust.

"Wait, maybe the three of us should stick together," Axel suggested. Roxas gave him a suspicious glance.

"But you're going over there," He said.

"No, I'm not," Axel insisted.

"Then where are you going?" Xion asked, honestly interested.

 _Why do I always get stuck with the icky jobs_? Axel complained mentally.

"I'm going to my apartment, where there's food, and beds and a roof," Axel said, almost bragging. "You two could join me if you want."

The two ten-year olds exchanged glances, obviously thinking over the proposition.

"Roxas, maybe we should stick together," Xion suggested. _Yes!_ Axel thought, triumphantly.

"I dunno," Roxas replied, eyeing Axel.

"Just for one night, please, he said he has food," Xion pleaded.

"Okay," Roxas conceded. _One night, that should give me time to get child services or something_. Axel thought.

"Great, let's go," Axel announced. He started making his way through the rubble, with the children following. As he made his way, he noticed something gleaming off the moonlight. He reached down and pulled out a cell phone. _I'll find the owner after I take care of these two_ Axel decided looking back at the two children.

* * *

Saïx limped through the ruins of the mall, glancing around fractically looking for any sign of Jasmine. His thoughts came in frantic fragments. _She must be here, can't lose here, where is she, please don't die, please don't_

"Hey," A voice interrupted his train of thought. Saïx turned to see a lanky man of about twenty-two with spiky caramel hair, and blue eyes. He wore a black jacket, absurdly baggy pants and a chain around his neck which had a small crown-shaped pendant attached to it. Saïx immediately clamped down on his emotions, hiding any sign of panic, fear, or pain. In an effort to regain his composure, Saïx tried to visualize the familiar glare of golden eyes, boring into his soul.

"What do you want?" Saïx asked.

"Just wanted to ask if you were okay?" the stranger replied.

"And who are you?" Saïx asked. The man reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a badge.

"Detective Sora Hikari," He replied.

"I'm fine," Saïx replied, indifferently. "Do you want my statement?"

"You don't look fine," Was Sora's reply as he leaned down to get a closer look at Saïx's leg.

"It'll heal," Saïx said, desperate to get Sora to leave so he could get back to finding Jasmine. Sora gave him a disbelieving glance.

"I think we should get you to an ambulance," He suggested. _No! have to find, can't lose_ His fragmented thoughts burst into his mind.

"Listen to me, I'm trying to find someone, a…a friend," Saïx said, desperation filling his mind. "She's a woman of 29, Arabian, dark hair and eyes."

Sora thought for a moment.

"There was a woman matching that description, she's over at that ambulance," He said pointing an uncertain finger at one of the emergency vehicles.

"How is she?" Saïx asked, desperately trying to hide his panic.

"Unconscious but stable, they're taking her to the hospital," Sora replied. _No no no no no no no My fault, my fault, why her too perfect please don't die plea_ Saïx's fragmented thoughts came to a sudden halt.

" _Saïx, seize your whimpering. I expect more from a Recusant._ "

The ever familiar resonant voice echoed in Saïx's mind, allowing Saïx to immediately crush the surges of despair and guilt flooding into him.

"May I see her?" Saïx asked, calmly.

"Uh, sure, they'd probably let you go with her," Sora replied. "How 'bout I get your statement later." Saïx nodded his thanks before limping toward Jasmine.

* * *

After fiddling with his keys for at least a minute, Axel finally managed to open his door.

"Here we go," He said as he walked in closely followed by Roxas and Xion. Axel had (somehow) managed to sneak the two up to his apartment without anyone noticing( because the last thing Axel needed was people wondering why he had two strange kids with him.)

"Whoa, is this where you live?" Roxas asked, gasping.

"Are you rich?" Xion added in awe. Axel had to fight every urge in his body to not laugh at the twos' comments.

"Well, how about you to get comfortable and I'll grab some grub?" Axel suggested. He walked over to his refrigerator and opened it. He started scrounging through the morsels that made up his usual meals. He pulled out a piece of cheese in a zip-lock bag, though he quickly replaced it when he smelled the cheese. He grabbed a bottle of root beer, but quickly put that back as well.

"Maybe, I should just order pizza or somethin'?" He muttered, though his stomach voiced its disagreement with a loud gurgle. Axel searched around for a moment before pulling a box out of the back of the fridge. _Bingo._ Axel thought, triumphantly.

"Hey guys, look what I," he began only to stop mid-sentence when he saw what Roxas was doing. The ten-year old had just pulled a moldy burger out of the garbage and was about to eat it.

"No!" Axel said, pulling the garbage out of Roxas' hand and throwing it back in the trash.

"Hey, I was gonna eat that," Roxas complained.

"That's not food, well I mean it was, but not anymore," Axel said before holding up the thing he had taken from the fridge. "This is food."

"What are they?" Xion asked, staring at the blue piece of ice on a stick Axel was holding.

"Sea-salt ice cream, got it memorized? I figured these would hold us over while I order pizza," Axel explained handing the two a bar of their own.

The two first took a tentative bite and then another and then another. Soon, they were wolfing the ice cream down. By the time, Axel had ordered the pizza the ice cream had completely vanished.

"Well, that didn't take long," Axel commented. "Hey, why don't we watch a movie?"

"Um Axel, the theater broke, remember," Xion said. _Really didn't want to be reminded of that_ Axel thought as he grabbed the remote to his television and switched the set on. Roxas and Xion jumped back in shock.

"It's like a mini theater," Xion gasped. Axel allowed himself a smile of amusement before settling down on the couch. He flipped through the channels for a while before eventually coming to the Disney Channel.

"Look, it's Cinderella," Xion practically screamed, pointing wildly at the television set.

 _Oh the irony._ Axel thought, though he didn't change the channel.

* * *

A woman with long red hair glanced around at the building that had once been the movie theater. Nothing remain of the theater but most of rest of the mall was relatively unharmed. Sure glass was shattered and displays fell over but on the whole that was a small price to pay compared to what might have happened to the theater.

"Kairi," Came a voice. The woman turned around to see a man with spiky caramel hair walking up.

"Alright Sora, what's the word?" She asked.

"Well, everyone that's not in serious condition are all together by what's left of the pop-corn stand, well what's left of it. They're ready to give statements," Sora replied, before asking. "Hey, is your mom okay?"

Kairi gave him an appreciative smile. Her mother, Aerith Gainsborough, ran a flower shop in the same mall.

"She's fine thanks, a little shaken up but nothing much else," Kairi replied. Kairi and Sora had been partners for the past two years and had become very close over that time. The two knew most everything about the other and were willing to help each other in any problems with the home front.

"That's good," Sora replied, before adding with a wink. "I mean, she hasn't given her blessing yet."

Kairi tried to hide a blush. The only complication to their partnership: she was single, and Sora was a hopeless romantic.

"Ya know," Kairi began trying to change the subject. "I'm surprised the feds aren't all over this." Sora broke into a large smile and a few barely contained giggles.

"What's so funny?" She asked slightly annoyed.

"Right on cue," Sora replied pointing behind her. Kairi turned around to see a man in a long black overcoat approaching. He had long sliver hair, a pale complexion and bright blue-green eyes.

"Alright, who's in charge here?" He asked briskly as he walked up.

"No-one really," Sora replied, informally.

"I'm detective Kairi Gainsborough, this is Sora Hikari," Kairi replied. "We're calling the shots here, who are you?"

"Riku Crescent, C.I.A." He replied, a hint of superiority in his voice. _Oh great,_ Kairi thought, while snapping to attention.

"Well, are there any witnesses?" Riku asked.

"Plenty, we put them all over there,' Sora answered pointing toward. "Well, except for the people in serious conditions, they're at the hospital."

Kairi could tell Riku was battling the urge to roll his eyes at Sora's particular style of detective work. She originally held the same opinion of Sora that Riku probably did: sloppy. However, she had learned that Sora had a certain method to his madness.

"Was there anyone, who went to the hospital that seemed suspicious?" Riku asked. _They were all unconscious_ Kairi thought annoyed.

"No, sir," Kairi replied.

"Nope, well except for this one guy, looked kind weird," Sora said. "But I don't think he was much of a threat."

"Describe him," Riku ordered impassively.

"Well, male with long blue hair and a large scar on his face," Sora explained. "The weird thing was his eyes were gold in color and his ears were turned up, kinda like an elf or a vulcan."

"Gold," Riku repeated, his eyes widening.

"Yeah, strange right," Sora said.

Kairi heard him mutter something under his breath that sounded like "the organization." _What's the organization_ Kairi wondered?

"You two, with me now" Riku said, sharply.

"Where are we going?" Sora asked.

"To the hospital," Riku replied.

* * *

By the time the movie was over, the two children had fallen asleep in Axel's arms. The two warm bodies closely hugging Axel's chest for security, an occasional sleep heavy cooing, and peaceful faces gave the man, a warm feeling inside, like he could grow used to this. _What am I thinking, these aren't my kids, I don't even know where they're from,_ Axel thought trying to snap himself out of these thoughts. The sound of ringing interrupted Axel's thoughts. He looked down and saw the phone glowing. He quickly answered it, hoping that the owner had called.

" _Number twelve, congratulations on beginning the Reshaping now the thirteen shall gather_ " Came a female voice from the other end. _Reshaping, Number twelve, what the_ Axel thought

"Look lady, is this your phone?" Axel asked. There was a sharp intake of breath and then the person hung up.

* * *

Jasmine awoke to a bright sterile light and the sound of beeping. She looked around to see she was in a hospital room.

"Don't move," Came a concerned voice. Jasmine looked to her side and saw Saïx sitting next to her. His eyes were twitching rapidly and his jaw was clenched tight. It was the most concerned Jasmine had ever seen Saïx.

"What happened?" She asked groggily.

"There was an explosion, some kind of terrorist attack. But you're safe now," Saïx replied.

Jasmine allowed herself a surprised smile at Saïx's almost out of character expression of emotion. She then noticed that the television set was showing the news.

" _Officials are still uncertain as to the cause of the explosion,_ " Announced the anchor. " _Speculation has ranged from an overworked gas pipe to a terrorist attack._ "

"The nurse left it on," Saïx explained reaching for the remote, however as he grabbed the device the set suddenly shorted out, the images fading to static.

"What the" Jasmine murmured. Then a symbol appeared on the screen. It was a large black and red heart with a fluer-de-lis on the base and a spiked 'x' going through the middle. The symbol then faded and words appeared.

 **We are heartless, all who oppose us shall be destroyed**

 **All who bear our standard shall be welcomed.**

* * *

Axel stared in shock as the words faded from his television screen only to be replaced with more.

 **This was a demonstration of our power**

 **All who are not with us are against us.**

* * *

In a large restaurant, the bar television blurred again only to show more words.

 **We are unstoppable and shall consume all**

Then the set faded returning to the sports game that had been playing earlier.

"Is..is this some kind of joke?" Asked one of the patrons.

"Mommy, I'm scared," whispered a child who pulled himself close to his mother.

"Dirty commies," Shouted one patrons.

"We have to do something," demanded another.

All the while, sitting at a table in the far back, a woman in a black coat sipped at her drink. _Hook, line, and sinker_ She thought.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello again good readers. Time for another chapter. I own nothing, but nothingness is eternal!**

Larxene, her hood still pulled over her head, trudged through a vast expanse of forest. Trees dominated her vision, each one identical to the last. Their collective leaves bloated out the sun, creating an almost monochrome appearance to the area. Due to this, no-one, not even the most ambitious trail walker, ever went into the forest. Most people would lose their bearings and become hopelessly lost. Then again, Larxene was not 'most people.' Larxene knew this forest and all of its secrets like the back of her hand. She stopped in her tracks and glanced around for a moment. Then she spotted a massive tree, one even taller than the rest. She bent down and looked at the oak's trunk. Hastily scratched into the trunk of the tree was the number thirteen in roman numerals. _Finally,_ she grumbled, inwardly. She walked past the tree and emerged in the bottom of a hill. She glanced up and saw standing on the top of the hill, a massive mansion.

The mansion looked more like a medieval castle, standing on the top of the hill overlooking the rest of the landscape. A massive iron fence surrounded the perimeter of the mansion like a wall. The asymmetrical peaks of the roof gave a gothic impression to the mansion. Each and every stone of the mansion was a pure, ethereal white.

Larxene walked from the grass onto the road which led to the main gate. She grumbled to herself about the rules expressly forbidding members to drive, in case the car or license plate was recognized. Eventually, she reached the main gate. The main gate featured two identical lock designs on the front of it. They were growling lion's heads, both with large horns gutting from their heads, their mains replaced with designs similar to bat wings, and pure blue gems for eyes. Larxene reached into her coats pocket and pulled out a keychain. Two keys hung from the chain. Imbedded in the handle of one was a blue gem with a single black grove down the middle, giving it the appearance of an eye. The other had a spiked cross-like design on the handle. Larxene shoved the first key into the lion's mouth and then turned it. The lock creaked and groaned in protest. Then, Larxene gave the door a firm push and walked through. After shutting the re-locking the gate, Larxene approached the main entrance of the mansion. Two stained oak doors, which, sitting next to each other, looked eerily similar a coffin, made up the front entrance. Each of the doors had a small stained glass window which consisted of multiple colors that looked like small colored pebbles had been tossed into a rectangle. Larxene pulled out the second key and placed it into the brass doorknob. She turned the key, which produced a loud bang from the lock. Larxene entered the mansion.

After relocking the door and finally pulling her hood back, Larxene looked around. She was in a large hall. The walls, ceiling and floor were the same pristine white as the outside of the mansion. The only contrast was a long red carpet stretched out over the ground. Larxene walked over to the left wall and put her hand on the wall. She began feeling the wall until a small rectangular section of the wall gave way. Then, a door shaped opening appeared in the wall. Larxene stepped through and then the door closed itself.

Larxene looked around at the new part of the mansion. It was a large square room with a spiral staircase leading down. Unlike the pristine hallway, this part of the mansion looked incomplete. The walls were colored both grey and white. Multiple parts stuck out like a workman had not finished repairing the wall. Some parts of the wall were left glaringly open, with steel beams and electric wires visible. The floor was not level, with some parts jutting up but others seemingly sunk down. Larxene proceeded down the staircase, occasionally cursing to herself when she tripped on a broken part of the stairs. Eventually, she arrived in a circular room. This room had thirteen doors spread evenly around the room. Each one was marked with a golden roman numeral. Larxene walked to the door labeled number 'XII' and then proceeded through. When she opened the door, she found herself standing on a throne in a massive circular room. Her throne stood fifteen meters above the ground. Twelve other thrones surrounded the circumference of the room. The thrones were all a sterile white and each had three spikes coming out of the top of the throne. In the middle was an image of an upside-down heart, the tip of the heart was removed, replaced with a thin spiked cross jutting out of the top. Larxene sat down in her throne and looked around. People wearing identical coats as herself sat in each of the thrones. This was Organization XIII. From what Larxene had been told, Organization XIII dated back to the 1700s. Originally formed during a time of great strife, the Organization had been created to end world conflict by uniting the entire world under one ruler, one who the Organization could guide to making the world safe and secure. The Organization worked in the shadows, quietly influencing the world outside through whatever means they could.

"Ah, Number XII, late as usual," Came a voice from her left next to her. Larxene turned to her left and saw a tall man with rose colored hair and deep blue eyes sitting in the throne closest to her right.

"Fashionably late, Marluxia," Larxene replied with a sly grin. "Come on, I've already told you: the only fashionable way to arrive at a party is to keep the guests waiting with baited breath."

"Of course, how could I forget?" Marluxia replied, a charming smile appearing on his face.

To the world at large, Marluxia Luminara was known as a beloved Hollywood celebrity. He first made his debut in a low-budget romantic comedy named _War of the Roses_. However, Marluxia's attractive appearance and winning on-screen personality had quickly sky-rocketed him into celebrity statues. Marluxia's popularity increased by leaps and bounds with each new film. Of course, it helped that Marluxia had an excellent interview personality. An undeniable factor in his rise in fame was how socially active he was. Marluxia always found a way of championing any worthy cause and always donating more money that anyone else involved. Overall, Marluxia's combination of talent, charisma, and generosity meant that he was beloved by everyone. However, that was all Marluxia's public face. In secret, Marluxia was number XI in Organization XIII. Marluxia had been a member of the Organization for nearly three years. Marluxia recruited Larxene into the Organization and acted as her partner and over-seer in the Organization's operations. Marluxia was the only member of the Organization Larxene really trusted and the closest thing to a friend that Larxene had within the ranks of the Organization.

"I must say, my dear, you speak as though you are the host of our little get-together," came a witty remark punctuated by a posh British accent from Larxene's right. Larxene turned and saw another man wearing the identical black coat as herself and Marluxia. His eyes were blue like Marluxia's but he possessed platinum blond hair in a cesare cut and a matching goatee. His ears were pierced with five silver piercings and four helix piercings in each ear. He shot Larxene a charming smile before holding up a coin and asking.

"Heads or tails, Larxene?"

"No thanks. I'm not in the mood," Larxene replied with a disinterested glance.

"Must you always deprive me of my fun?" He complained, though his tone remained playful.

"I believe Larxene's only attempting to help you overcome your *ahem* problem, Luxord," Marluxia said.

"Ah. And when, may I ask, did a little game become a problem?" Luxord replied with a grin before flipping the coin and catching it in mid-air, adding before the coin landed in his palm. "Besides, I think it's safe to say we all are quite used to gambling by now."

Larxene rolled his eyes at the comment, though it probably was true. Luxord Tarot was an English aristocrat, a Duke or Earl of some English country-side Larxene could not bother to remember. He attained this status at the age of nineteen. With his title, Luxord also happened to inherit an enormous sum of money, making most multi-billionaires look like paupers. Right out the gate, Luxord immediately dedicated his new found wealth to his favorite pastime: gambling. The English nobleman had been to every casino on planet earth and had attended every high-stakes poker game he could. He bet and lost millions every year yet somehow managed to stay rich enough to buy a small country year after year. This is where Luxord's more hidden gambles came in handing. To the world at large, Luxord was a rich, irresponsible, party animal that blew away millions. However, Luxord and his incredible fortune played a much more important role in the world at large. From what Larxene had gather, Luxord was the 'money-man' of the Organization. Luxord's seemingly endless supply of wealth was the primary source of funds for most of the operations of Organization XIII. This included everything from buying control of the banks and large businesses to the more menial tasks of providing weaponry for the Organization.

"There you go again, Luxord, chopping up all our work to a whim of your 'luck,'" Came an accusing voice from across the room. Larxene, Marluxia, and Luxord all shifted their attention to the fifth throne in the room. Vexen Clarkson sat, hunched over in his throne, glaring at them with a smarter-than-thou look. Larxene rolled her eyes as Vexen continued.

"If you are so intent to chalk up our actions to a mere game than you truly do not understand the importance of our mission," Vexen scoffed, obviously reveling in his supposed superiority.

 _And of course you understand fully_ _the 'importance of our mission'_ Larxene thought irritated at Vexen's high and mighty comments. World famous scientist or not Larxene could hardly tolerate Vexen's irritating snobbishness. Larxene hardly understood why Vexen was even a part of the Organization. If she had her way, Vexen would be removed as quickly as possible.

"Ah, forgive me, Vexen. You seem to have misinterpreted my comment," Luxord said, his tone remaining calm and slightly playful. "I was merely stating that each one of us has experience with gambling something over the course of our, oh shall we say, employment in the Organization."

"The Organization isn't a job," Came a voice from across the room.

Vexen, Luxord and Larxene all looked to see a thin, short young man with steel-blue almost grey hair. His bangs covered most of his face, the right side of his face being completely obscured and a few loose strands falling in front of his left eye. He wore the same cloak as the rest. In his hands, he held a pocket edition of some book Larxene could not identify, though she could safely say it was _Atlas Shrugged._

"Being a member of the Organization is not a mere employment. It is a task, a mission, to save the world from collapsing in on itself, destroying itself." Zexion said, his eyes never leaving his book. "It is an opportunity to change the world, to make history. You should not take it so lightly as a job."

"Oh come now, Zexion, it was a figure of speech," Luxord replied, his tone remaining the same.

"Heh, I suspected as much. I just merely wanted to make sure you hadn't forget your place. After all, it would be difficult to find a new number X with your talent," Zexion replied with what to him was a friendly joke, but to everyone else a threat.

Zexion Lexibute was an oddity among the Organization. Unlike Luxord, Marluxia, or Vexen, Zexion was far from world famous. In fact, after doing a little digging, Larxene had discovered that Zexion was a collage drop-out with no friends or family to speak of. Ironically, Zexion was arguably the most intelligent person in the room. Zexion had been the one responsible for hacking into every single television station on the planet and broadcasting the Organization's decoy message. He was also responsible for most of the planning in the Organization. Personality wise, Zexion was rather mysterious. He constantly held himself with a collect and calm attitude. The only time Zexion ever broke his reserved composure was when he was either praising the glory of the Organization's mission or when he regaled the other members with his rather morose sense of humor.

 _Speaking of dead_ Larxene growled internally before shifting her gaze over to the eight throne in the room. A woman around Larxene's age wearing the same coat sat in the eighth throne. She was rather skinny, almost anorexic, and had a pale complexion. Her blue eyes darted from one corner of the room to another as if she expected someone to suddenly turn on her.

 _Oh if anyone's going to turn on you, Naminé, it'll be me!_ Larxene thought infuriated. Naminé Natrie had recently captured the attention of the world as the "Return of the Renaissance." Naminé's art displayed a unique combination of the more classical, realistic art forms, with the subjective, impressionistic modern art. Naminé's art had been critically acclaimed, gaining the respect of a wide variety of art critics. Larxene could hardly drowse through a single art magazine without seeing at least five of Naminé's paintings. As to why Naminé was a part of the Organization, that was a mystery to Larxene. Larxene could tell by Naminé's constant nervous and anxious expression that she really did not want to be here at all. That meant to Larxene that the Organization had some kind of dirt on Naminé. But then, why would the Organization want her of all people. True, Naminé was famous, but she didn't have the influence that Larxene and Marluxia held over public opinion. In fact, Naminé's only real job in the Organization was maintaining communication. The thought of which immediately sent Larxene into a fury. Naminé was supposed to contact Larxene immediately after the mission. But, Larxene had not received a single communication.

Naminé caught finally Larxene's gaze and Larxene was about to give Naminé a piece of her mind when a loud snoring noise caught their attention. The two looked over to Naminé's right to see Number IX sleeping in his throne. Larxene's anger toward Naminé immediately shifted toward Number IX. _Demyx…Why is he even here?_ Larxene growled internally.

Michael 'Demyx' Arpeggio was a young man of 25 with bright green eyes and dirty blond hair spiked up into a mullet, though that did not stop several bangs from falling in from of his face. Of course, no one could tell because his eyes were closed and he was wearing a stupid beanie hat with his own name printed on it. Deymx was the world's latest 'big hit' pop star. His songs played almost constantly over the radio, his albums flew off the shelves (or rather off the download sites), flocks of fans from around the world constantly obsessed over him, and he even had his own radio station. All of which made Larxene despise him even more because of how useless he was. Larxene had spent enough time with the real Demyx to know that he was a lazy, no-good wimp. All he did was sleep. Every chance he got he would doze off. Every time he got a mission, he would try, and usually succeed, in bartering it off to someone else. He whined and complained constantly about his assignments.

 _Honestly, why is he even here?_ Larxene wondered. She reached into her coat's pocket and fingered a small rock she had found on her way here. Larxene was very tempted to 'accidently' chuck the rock at the sleeping form of Demyx, however, she knew that none of the higher ups would appreciate that. Her eyes drifted to the sixth throne and its occupant, Lexaeus Haten. Lexaeus was not someone Larxene would cross lightly. A mountain of a man, Lexaeus stood the tallest of the Organization. He was also extremely well-built, looking more like a mountain than a man. He had a rather angular face, with a square chain, straight nose, and sharp cheekbones. His blue eyes stood out against his small eyebrows and his auburn hair was slicked back into a strange collection of spikes. His attitude only added to the intimidation that came with his appearance. Lexaeus was completely laconic, only speaking when absolutely nessecery. From what Larxene could gather, Lexaeus was the owner of a massive construction company, one which had contracts all over the world. Larxene was not really sure why the Organization needed a construction company, though if the Superior would mind letting the rest in on his little masterplan, then maybe she could start to put the pieces together.

Larxene then glanced over a throne number V and its occupant: Xaldin Lindworm. Xaldin was a broad-shouldered man with violet eyes, crossed arms and a stern expression. He had a massive collection of dreadlocks which were tied back into a sort of pony tail with four hanging in front of his eyes. Xaldin was the only military man in the Organization as far as Larxene could tell. By now, everyone knew the story of Xaldin, "the last great war hero." Xaldin, the young private who stood up to a corrupt sergeant, Xaldin, the lieutenant who led his team through incredibly dangerous missions with no casualties, and now Xaldin, the general who had reluctantly accepted his promotion at the insistence of his superior officers. Xaldin's story was inspiring and noble and all, though Larxene personally thought that he was a pill, constantly being stern and gruff. However, she could not deny that having an important military commander in the Organization was a valuable asset.

Then, Larxene glanced at throne's number III and number II, the real mystery of the Organization. A young man with spikey jet black hair and pale skin sat in throne number three. That was Vanitas. He was the shortest member of the Organization, but he was still very well built. However, the most distinctive trait of Vanitas were his golden eyes, the likes of which Larxene had never seen. Often times, Larxene had wondered why they were that color, though admittedly many of her theories sounded like episodes of the X-Files. When she did dare to glance into Vanitas' eyes, she felt like she was staring straight at a forest fire.

Larxene had done as much digging as possible, checked every hospital within 20 miles of the mansion, which she assumed was Vanitas' home, and checked every newspaper within the timeline of how old he most likely was. However, Larxene could not find a trace of Vanitas' existence anywhere she looked. He was a complete enigma.

She then looked over a throne number 2: Xigbar. Xigbar was probably the oldest member of the Organization, looking to be about in his late fifties. His black hair, which was tied back into a pony tail, was riddled in grey streaks. Xigbar wore the same black coat as everyone else, except Xigbar's looked slightly different. The sleeves of his coat were closer to his actual arms and the shoulders of the coat seemed to jut out farther than any of the other coats. Also, he looked rather poorly maintained. The bottom of the coat was covered in scratches and rips. The most interesting part of Xigbar's appearance was his face. He had an eyepatch over his right eye and a long scar stretching from the top of his left cheek to his jawbone. Both his ears and his eyebrows were upturned. His only remaining eye was gold, just like Vanitas. However, when Larxene looked into Xigbar's eye, it was like watching the distant flash of a sniper rifle.

If Vanitas was an enigma, then Xigbar was an enigma wrapped inside a mystery. When she had tried to research Xigbar, she had found hundreds of references to the name. The newspaper articles varied from: 'Xigbar: heroic soldier receives commendation for protecting company' to 'dishonorably discharged for embezzling' to 'FBI agent retires after greatest collar' to 'local gang leader slain.' The problem was that each of these descriptions could match Xigbar. For all Larxene knew, Xigbar could be anything from a soldier to a gang leader. She had tried checking possible birth certificates trying to pin down which story was Xigbar's by checking the timelines. However, that only backfired because there were even more 'potential Xigbars.' There were at least fifty different birth certificates related to Xigbar, one even dating back to the 1920s. And Larxene was pretty sure that Xigbar wasn't that old.

Then Larxene noticed something odd about Xigbar today: he was completely silent. Normally, Xigbar entertained himself with some verbal sparring. He usually threw around more than a few insults or smart remarks and then from there get into a bickering match with someone, usually Larxene. However, today he was just siting, quietly smirking to himself. It drove her crazy. _What's so special about today?_ She grumbled.

Larxene opened her mouth to hurl an insult at Xigbar when she caught a subtle motion from Marluxia. Larxene looked to her left and noticed that the 13th throne had a black-coated figure in it. Larxene stared at the figure in amazement. No one had ever taken the 13th throne. The 13th throne had been reserved for the prince, the title that the Organization used for the figure-head by which they would unite the world. Larxene knew that the Superior had selected who would be the Prince, but she did not know the Prince had already joined. Then, she looked closer and noticed it was a plastic model wearing the coat.

 _Thud._

The thunderous sound of a footstep shook the entire room. Immediately, everyone responded. Demyx snapped awake and quickly pulled off his hat. Zexion shut his book and quietly slid it back into his pocket and Luxord quickly hid his coin. Naminé began shaking uncontrollably. Vexen started ringing his hands together. Even Marluxia and Xaldin adopted more guarded expressions. Larxene noticed that all Xigbar did was glance up at the first throne with a smirk.

 _Thud._

Soon the solitary foot step was followed by another and then another, soon increasing until the sound shook the room as if a marching band was passing through. Then, it stopped. After a moment of intense silence, the door of the first throne opened and a figure in the black coat emerged. He stared around the room for a moment, gazing intently at each member, before sitting down.

"Greetings friends," Said Xemnas, the Superior of Organization XIII.

His words sent shivers down the spines of every member. Everyone here was afraid of Xemnas. When he spoke, he spoke in a deep, calm voice that echoed throughout the room. His tone never raised above a monotone, always keeping his voice at an even, yet intimidating, sound. And if that wasn't enough, Xemnas was scary just to look at. Xemnas was a tall, well-built man with tan skin. He had long, spiky silver hair with bangs to perfectly frame his face. That was all fine and dandy until one got a good look at his eyes. Xemnas' eyes were gold like Xigbar and Vanitas. However, looking into Xemnas' eyes felt like staring into a fiery black hole, a dark flaming pit that could consume everything in its path.

"Today is a momentous occasion," He announced. "Here we begin the journey which we began so long ago. Soon, everything will be in place for the final unification of the world, under our guiding hand."

He looked over at Vexen, Zexion, and Larxene before commenting.

"My congratulations for a job, admirably done,"

"Thank you, Lord Xemnas," Zexion said, his head bowing slightly. 'Lord Xemnas' was something of an unwritten rule amongst the Organization. Technically there was no obligation as far as Larxene could tell to refer to Xemnas as any sort of 'lordship,' especially seeing as Luxord was an actual noble. But everyone called Xemnas 'lord', some out of respect, most out of fear.

"Now, onto the matter at hand," Xemnas said. "The people of the world have, as expected, become afraid. Our simultaneous attack throughout the world has struck fear into the hearts of the world."

Larxene's eyes widened. S _imultaneous s_ he repeated in her mind. She had no idea there were simultaneous attacks joining throughout the world. She was about to voice her confusion but Luxord beat her to the punch.

"Begging your pardon, Lord Xemnas, but did you say simultaneous?" Luxord asked.

"What, you really think we don't have agents other than you idiots? Pftt. As if," Xigbar said, leaning back in his throne.

"More Organization members?" Vexen said surprised.

"Oh, don't worry, you're all still the real Organization members," Vanitas commented, a sardonic undertone in his voice. "The rest of them are just uninterested third parties we hired for the big night, they're being taken care of as we speak."

"There have been and only will be thirteen," Xemnas confirmed.

"So, in other words, Daddy still luves you," Xigbar mocked.

Larxene felt like jumping out of her throne and strangling the two. Xigbar and Vanitas were the highest ranking members of the Organization other than Xemnas, himself, a fact that the two seemed to take as an excuse to mock the rest of the members.

"Our attack has spread fear throughout the world. However, that fear must be properly cultivated if it is to be of any use to us," Xemnas said, before turning his gaze at Xaldin.

"Xaldin, is the military responding as predicted?" Xemnas asked.

"Even better than we could have hoped for," Xaldin replied in his coarse British accent. "They're all panicked, frantically running around trying to find out how they were taken so completely off guard."

"Good," Xemnas said, his voice staying monotonous. "And Zexion, how are the common people responding?"

"At first, the response was equivalent to a normal terrorist attack: fear, anger, mourning ect." Zexion responded rather casually. "But, when news of the simultaneous attacks leaked out, the normal fear transformed into a sudden and consuming panic. Conspiracy theories, mass online hysteria, and desperate calls to their precious government to save them."

"Excellent," Xemnas said, drawing out the word as though he were savoring it. "That fear is exactly what will bring the world together. A common enemy. Now, we must cultivate that fear. And each of us must work to bring about its growth."

"It will be difficult to acquire the nessicery components for the next stage of the plan," Vexen said as Xemnas' gaze turned to him. "However, I am certain that I will be able to attain all of the important pieces. My prestige does allot me certain privileges."

"Preparations are being made now for the third stage of the plan," Xaldin reported. "For now, though, I will ensure co-operation becomes a relevant option."

"I have already ensured that Haten construction will be responsible for the reconstruction of the attack sights, as you wished," Lexaeus reported briskly.

"I've been keeping a close eye on various government communications. Unfortunately, it seems that they will need a larger push before they come together," Zexion stated.

"…The…piece th-that you wanted, the one to commemorate the attack, it's nearly finished…Lord Xemnas," Naminé spurt out as fast as she could.

"I've a got a new little ditty coming out, plenty of subtext about unity 'n' standing up to the man 'n' all that! It sure was hard, but don't you worry boss-man, I'll get it out A.S.A.P!" Demyx said enthusiastically.

"The stocks are dropping just as I predicted," Luxord stated. "I've been buying up assets, just as everyone's stocks are dropping. In time, we will be the only people with real money."

"I have an official press conference scheduled," Marluxia said. "I'll be sure to woe the public with disgust and out-rage."

"My new article is fresh and ready to print," Larxene said. "The masses will be enthralled with it, trust me."

"Very good, all of you," Xemnas commended. "Now, onto the next matter at hand: witnesses. I trust that no-one, outside of us, has any knowledge of the events that transpired last night."

"Not to worry," Xigbar said. "I had all of our other agents taken care of."

"My assistant, Rinoa, hardly knows a thing," Vexen assured Xemnas. "Besides, even if she did see anything, she'd be too stupid to put it together."

"I have an alibi for last night," Larxene said. "Besides, no-one saw me."

However, Larxene's words were meet with a harsh laugh from Vanitas.

"What?" Larxene demanded. "Something funny?"

"Right, no-one saw you, that's rich," Vanitas challenged, before turning his attention to Naminé. "Naminé, tell our friends what you told me."

Naminé started at Vanitas like a deer in the headlights, before plucking up her courage and beginning.

"Well…I contacted number XII as p-per regulation," Naminé began.

 _No, you didn't you little liar!_ Larxene thought venomously. But she decided to wait until Naminé was done before calling her out.

"B-but wh-when I called her, someone else picked up the phone," Naminé half-whispered.

Larxene felt like her throne was about to drop from under her. Making sure no-one noticed her, she plunged her hands into both of her pockets trying to find it.

"And who, pray tell, picked up the phone?" Xemnas inquired, leaning forward in his throne.

"A man named…Leeland, Axel Leeland," Naminé almost whispered.

Larxene's eyes grew to the size of plates. _N-no no, I-I had my phone with me…how could he hav-_

Then the horrible realization struck her. She knew Axel worked as a theater projectionist. But she had never bothered to ask where. What if…

"Something wrong, number XII?" Marluxia asked, tilting his head toward Xemnas.

Larxene looked up at him and quickly understood.

"No, just now I have to get a new phone," Larxene quickly replied, hiding her horror under a flippant disinterest.

"Were there any other witnesses?" Xaldin asked.

"I salvaged the theater's surveillance systems and found this," Zexion said, pulling out his phone and sending a message to the other Organization members, who quickly pulled out their phones. Larxene sat for a moment in suspense as the others all checked something. Then Marluxia threw his phone to Larxene. She caught it. Freeze framed on the screen was a picture of four people standing right in front of the bomb. Larxene started at it in horror. Sure enough, it was Axel, stupid leather jacket and everything. The other three were new faces to her. One was a tall man with an x-shaped scar on his face. The others were a little boy and girl, probably only ten.

 _How could this happen?_ Larxene thought, angrily grabbing the end of her coat.

"The other adult is a Saïx Dawson, high school teacher," Zexion said. "I couldn't ascertain the identities of the children."

"What's it matter?" Demyx asked. "I mean, it's not like they'll spill. Right?"

"Security in our mission is of the utmost importance," Vexen insisted. "We need to make sure no-one suspects a thing!"

"Quite true, old chap. It certainly would be rather unfortunate if anything were to slip to the public," Luxord commented.

"Indeed, Number XII," Xemnas began turning the full force of his gaze directly on Larxene. "Since it was your blunder, you will be responsible for dealing with Mr. Leeland."

Larxene looked up at Xemnas and met his gaze. The force of his golden eyes immediately quelled any rebellious senses in Larxene. The burning fire of his eyes made her want to curl up into a ball.

"Yes, sir," Larxene replied. She had meant her response to come out as disinterested, annoyied, and even the slightest bit sarcastic. But it ended up sounding like a meek child.

"I will accompany Number XII," Marluxia volunteered. "Seeing as she has no way of communicating with us."

"Number II, you will deal with Saïx. Meeting adjured," Xemnas said.

"Wait, Lord Xemnas, before we depart, may I ask, why is there a model wearing our coat, sitting in the prince's throne?" Marluxia inquired.

"I wanted to convey that our Prince has been chosen," Xemnas replied. "However, I cannot reveal his identity yet. Meeting adjourned."

With that, each of the organization member stood up and began walking out with the exception of the leading three, who remained sitting.

As Larxene walked out, she noticed Marluxia's gaze linger on the 13th black coated figure for a moment before continuing out. When she and the rest of the Organization returned to the circular room, they found a long rectangular table covered in bowls of fruit awaiting them. Larxene had no idea where they always came from, but she never tried any of it.

"Ah, how thoughtful, as always," Luxord commented pulling up a chair. He produced a deck of cards from his coat. "Anyone for a game of chance?"

Demyx, Xaldin, Zexion, and Lexaeus pulled up seats. Vexen left, declaring how games of chance were beneath him and Naminé scurried after him. Larxene then noticed that Marluxia had disappeared.

"Larxene, aren't you going to join us?" Luxord asked while he shuffled.

"No thanks, places to be, things to do," Larxene replied, before walking off.

Once Larxene had gotten far enough away from the castle, she let her full fury unleashed.

"How! How did this happen!" She growled kicking a rock with such force that the rock hit a tree thirty feet away.

"Dear me, I wonder, whatever did that rock do to vex you so, Larxene?" Came Marluxia's voice from the shadows. Larxene turned around to see Marluxia leaning against a tree, twirling a dandelion between his fingers.

"Oh, believe it or not, it was actually one of his cousins," Larxene joked, before her face turned serious. "So what do we do, now?"

"You received your orders. They seem rather straightforward," Marluxia replied, his eyes focused on the dandelion.

"You can't honestly expect me to eliminate my own boyfriend, for them," Larxene shot back, her temper rising.

"If you don't, then they'll eliminate you," Marluxia state matter-of-factly. "And that would be an unfortunate consequence."

Larxene remained silent. For all his stupidity and bluster, she did love Axel and she was not willing to kill him.

"Which is why, we'd have to make it look convincing," Marluxia said.

"Really?" Larxene asked, keeping her voice even.

"Yes, after all, we'll be needing some new members, once Xemnas is out of the way," Marluxia said, crushing the dandelion.

"Now, you're talking," Larxene said. She and Marlxuia had been plotting to overthrow Xemnas for years. Neither of them trusted him and the idea of a new world order with him as its leader, was not something that appealed to them.

"When are we going to get rid of him anyway? You can't honestly expect me to wait forever can you?" Larxene asked.

"Soon, but not yet. I want to know the full extent of his plans," Marluxia replied. "And who our newest member will be."

"Lord Xemnas has always been good at keeping things close to the chest," Larxene said. "But that won't matter once he's gone."

"True," Marluxia agreed solemnly before changing the subject. "Now, you must tell me, how did someone like Axel win your affection?"

* * *

" _But bttz that won't matter bttz bttz once he's gone."_ Came the sound of Xigbar's recording device, as he sat twirling it in his hands.

"Haha, ah and who says there's nothing good on the radio these days?" Xigbar chuckled to himself. "And to think these idiots never thought we wouldn't bug the forest too."

"This is an actor and a journalist, were you really expecting brilliant strategic thinking?" Vanitas said, before turning to Xemnas. "I don't get it, why don't we just finish them off now, before they become too much trouble."

"If Marluxia is willing to be patient, then so am I," Xemnas replied. "Besides, those two could still be useful, before we remove them."

"Right, so what do you want me to do with good ol' X-face," Xigbar asked, looking at the picture of Saïx. "Hard to believe he'd show up after all this time."

"Saïx may still prove useful," Xemnas said. "And there will be a few new openings in the Organization once the traitors are gone."

"You're really willing to go easy on him," Vanitas asked, somewhat annoyed.

"Oh, do my ears deceive me, or is that a pinch of jealously I hear?" Xigbar asked, a smirk on his face.

"Your ears deceive you, old man. Why would I be jealous of that runt?" Vanitas shot back.

"I never said go easy on him," Xemnas interrupted.

"Huh," Xigbar asked.

"If Saïx is to die so easily, then he is not worth our time," Xemnas said.

"What about the other witnesses?" Vanitas asked.

"Follow them and ensure that the job gets done with Mr. Leeland," Xemnas said. "And the boy is of no concern."

"What about 'Poppet?'" Xigbar asked, his good eye drifting to the picture of the girl.

"What about her?" Xemnas replied. "She is a child. She is of no revelence."

Vanitas and Xigbar both nodded.

"So are you sure about this guy?" Xigbar asked nodding toward the 13th throne.

"He is a young idealistic fool in a position of great power," Xemnas said. "Turning him to our will should not prove difficult. And with him at our side, we will pave the way for a grand new future, with Organization XIII at its head."


End file.
